marina's art

Can't believe it's winter!

2012-02-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

The weather has been unbelievably warm this winter--I took all these photos on a walk through my neighborhood last weekend.

Good food and shopping!

2012-01-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Recent meals: Flying Fish Grill (love the fried scallop tacos and cod ceviche!)
Food trucks at work: Excellent fish and chips at Ciao Bella Catering, and Vietnamese chicken sandwiches (tiny rickshaw bike, top photo)
Buying leather scraps at Feed & Fuel (admiring the chicks and chinchillas!)

Lunch trucks

2012-01-09T14:56:00.001-08:00

Usually there are several lunch trucks near my office, but today just two showed up. My favorite is Cheese Gone Wild, for obvious reasons!

De Young Museum visit

2012-01-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

We also visited the De Young museum on the same day as our Legion visit (using the same tickets!) and saw the new kilim show. All of them were donated to the museum by the same collector, a very generous gift! We parked near Golden Gate park, just in front of a very interesting looking shop called Modern Relics. It was closed, so we will have to return at another time.

Legion of Honor in San Francisco

2012-01-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

After Christmas, we visited the Legion of Honor, mainly to see the Mourners sculpture show. I could not take pictures in that exhibit, so I took a bunch of other sculpture shots, including the Medusa which is on loan to the Legion. (We didn't pay extra to see the Pissarro exhibit, though.)

A handmade Christmas

2011-12-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the various decorations around our house, many of them are handmade. These come out every year, so they are very "traditional." The two stockings are crazy-quilted, I made them when Jemma and Isaac were born.

Roses in December!

2011-12-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, these beauties are blooming in my front yard right now!

Crocheted Santas at the Alameda Antique market!

2011-12-05T12:32:00.001-08:00

I found these two jolly fellas at the Alameda Antique market yesterday, only $5 each!

Cars, Cars, Cars!

2011-11-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

We went to the SF Auto Show last weekend, and I sat in a lot of cars! I also test drove a Nissan Leaf, driving two laps rather slowly around a track. Loved the Mustang pool table in the Ford display. The Academy of Art showed off its classic car collection, the cars are magnificent.

Another 1870 Art Center Open House

2011-11-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

I have blogged about this place before, it's a wonderful old school building that is filled with artists' studios. The city is trying to raise the rent, so the artists may be moving elsewhere, but so far no decision has been made. So in the meantime, they held another open house last weekend. My DS really enjoyed the wood carving class he took this summer with Ruth Waters (shown standing inside her studio), she is an excellent teacher.

Two new quilting projects

2011-11-20T13:50:00.001-08:00

A rainy weekend is the best time to work on long-delayed quilting projects. I sewed together the cat blocks that I embroidered when I was visiting in Atlanta, and I also sewed together the Minnesota squares sent to me by a friend. The tops are now pinned and ready for quilting! These are both destined to be Christmas presents.

Exploring Moss Landing

2011-11-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

AS I drove north from Monterey, I veered off the main highway onto the narrow road that leads to Moss Landing a few blocks away. This used to be an antique mecca and there are still a couple of antique shops there, but the main attraction is the quaint old buildings, a nice-looking restaurant called the Haute Enchilada, and the Shakespeare Museum. I spoke to Terry Taylor at the museum, who told me that the group is hoping to create an entire Renaissance-style village, complete with theater, in a nearby vacant middle school.

Museum of Monterey modern art

2011-11-14T13:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I revisited the Museum of Modern Art in Monterey to see the "pop art" show. Could not take photos in that exhibit (although other patrons did not seem to notice the many signs prohibiting photography...). But I took pictures of other things in the museum. The large paintings are by John Haley and the map and Campbell Soup cans are by Enrique Chagoya. If you look at the soup can labels closely, they have very funny names!

Interweave Knitting Lab

2011-11-11T15:02:00.001-08:00

I enjoyed my classes at the Knitting Lab in San Mateo last weekend, but what I loved the most was meeting some knitting legends. Guess I'm just a groupie at heart. Here's me with Alice Starmore and Meg Swansen.

Embroidered books

2011-11-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

Today, I treated myself to these classic books on amazon. They are all ones I have read before, but I just love the "embroidered" covers.

Half Moon Bay Brewing Company

2011-10-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Today we had lunch at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, which is right in the harbor. At this time of year there are many pumpkin menu choices, including this pumpkin soup that was served in a tiny pumpkin!

Pumpkin Festival!

2011-10-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I waited in line for 2 hours to get pumpkin pancakes, then walked through the entire festival and ended up at the iPumpkin booth in front of Coastside.net's building. Besides the pancakes, I ate nachos and a mimosa in the official wine glass (you have to buy a glass and also pay for the drink, but I can bring the glass back again today). The orange ferari parked on Main street was a very popular attraction. The inflated jump house is on highway 92 (I snapped the pic while stuck in slow traffic coming home Friday night), and you can see my friend wearing an amazing candy corn hat she knitted and felted herself. I bought the mini white pumpkins last weekend and painted ghost faces on them, that is my Halloween decorating for the year :-)

Lots of cool ceramic sculptures at Ft Mason

2011-10-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

I took a lot of photos of the sculptures, there were so many that I liked.

Blue Angels and Ceramic Art!

2011-10-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Today, we had a delicious brunch at Greens (Ft. Mason) and also visited a wonderful Ceramics show, all while the Blue Angels and other amazing planes were doing stunts over the Bay! At one point, the planes flew so low that they set off car alarms in some vehicles parked at Ft Mason. We had to pay $20 to park at the Marina Middle School parking lot about three blocks away, but it was worth it.

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival App!

2011-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Check out this fun video about the new Pumpkin Festival App! I wrote the script and took the photos, and the voices are my DH and a friend. The pumpkins were grown in a neighbor's yard.

Murals of Monterey

2011-10-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

In the patio outside the Museum of Monterey, these tile murals are embedded in the wall. I love the illustration style and colors. Wouldn't they make nice quilt patterns?

Museum of Monterey visit

2011-10-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday, I visited the Museum of Monterey for the first time. It's right on the water in downtown Monterey, and although it's small, the artwork was very interesting. There's a nice gift shop, too, selling some work by local artists. Then we went to Cannery Row for lunch at the Fishhopper, which is on a pier over the water--great views and the food is excellent, too.

I went APE today!

2011-10-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Actually, I went to the Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco. As usual, it was full of eager new faces, proud to show their artwork to the world, many for the first time. MY DD was one of those faces!

Ft Mason book sale

2011-09-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Every year, the Friends of the Library has a big used book sale at Ft. Mason. This year, we attended the preview evening, before the general public was able to get in. I took one shot just to show how big it was....we had a delightful dinner at Greens afterwards.

Sausalito visit

2011-09-26T11:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we visited Sausalito. It was raining a bit, so it wasn't as pretty as it would be on a bright sunny day, but we still had a good time. I wanted to see Bluebird Yarns and we also had an excellent breakfast at a nearby Italian restaurant, plus browsed in a couple of other shops on Calendonia street, around the corner from Bluebird.

Another spooky Halloween quilt underway!

2011-09-26T11:48:00.001-07:00

This pattern was purchased at the Georgia Quilt Show a couple of years ago. We bought a piece of the black and white skeleton fabric at the show, but the rest of the fabrics are from my stash. I fused all the smaller pieces in place and will machine quilt around the edges of them to hold them down permanently.

A "flavor-ful" dinner and a Halloween quilt!

2011-09-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary, we had dinner at Flavor, a relatively new restaurant near the Half Moon Bay harbor. I took pics of our desserts, which were divine. My entree was a seafood pot pie, which had a really delicious crust and large pieces of scallops, shrimp, and fish inside. The only downside is that the sun was pouring in through the large windows that face the ocean, so we had to pull the blinds down to avoid getting cooked (the restaurant does not have air conditioning, just ceiling fans.) Other patrons were complaining about the heat, also.

On Sunday, I made a small Halloween quilt from a kit that my DIL bought at a quilt show in Atlanta a couple of years ago. I'll bring it when I visit them in October. It is mostly fused applique, with the quilting and applique stitching done at the same time, so this was a fairly quick project.

Glen Park visit

2011-09-17T18:24:00.001-07:00

Glen Park is a typical small San Francisco neighborhood near a BART station, with a few nice shops and restaurants. We used to live here, years ago, in the little blue-gray house shown in one of the photos. The new owners have really done a nice job of planting the front garden, when we lived there, it had just a small tree and some hedges. Today we had lunch in the corner coffee shop, "A Nice Little Place to Eat" (is that really what it's called?), which has been there forever, and checked out the bookstore and a few other shops. Lovely day!

Another visit to Japantown

2011-09-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Seems like I'm here every month, at least! I love it, and I had a $5 coupon to use in the bookstore. Couldn't pass that up--the three books (well, one is a magazine) cost about $47 with my membership discount and the coupon. We ate at the restaurant with the paper lantern outside, and also checked out the kimono shop on the bridge between buildings.

Half Moon Bay Farmer's Market

2011-09-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

I dropped by because the spinners were there (many of them are also knitters I know) and took a few pictures of the flowers and tasty food, too.

Piedmont Yarns and Fentons Ice Cream!

2011-09-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, after the Alameda Antiques Market, we went to Piedmont Yarns in Oakland, which is only a block away from Fentons' Restaurant, so of course we also ate there. We split a huge sundae, pistachio and pomegranate, totally decadent. I also had the crab salad sandwich, delicious! The hand knitted gloves were in another storefront on the same street, I loved the colors.

Santa Cruz and the Golden Fleece

2011-09-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I drove to Santa Cruz and checked out the Golden Fleece, a yarn shop I have visited before but that now has a new owner. The shop seems to have more yarn than it did the last time, and it was quite busy even on Labor Day. I can recommend the coffee at the Java Junction coffee shop across the street, also! On the way back home, I stopped at the Swift Stitch, another yarn shop, but it was closed. I consoled myself with fresh lemonade from Kelly's French Bakery next door, delicious.

Kings Mountain Art Festival

2011-09-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

The weather was gorgeous for this year's Kings Mountain Art Fair! I bought a few pieces from my favorite potter, Foxlo. I loved the sketchbooks by Paul Shardlow, they are real sketchbooks but just one or two pages have drawings that he reproduced from his personal sketchbooks and mounted in frames. There was one wool vendor but I didn't purchase any yarn this year.

J-Pop festival, Gorilla BBQ, model store

2011-08-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of what I've been doing lately--yesterday, we visited the J-Pop music festival in SF's Japantown. I'm including just one photo here, but there were lots of people in costume walking around, and the craft booths were fun to peruse also. I bought a small kit to make crochet squares to donate for Earthquake and Tsunami relief in Japan.

The red train car is where my favorite take-out food is, Gorilla Barbeque. There's no place to eat inside the car, it's all kitchen and a little counter for ordering. But it's near the beach in Pacifica, so there are plenty of outdoor places to eat.

Finally, we also visited a traditional "model" store in SF, Franciscan Hobbies on Ocean Avenue. It has been there for years. I never knew there were so many different magazines about model trains!

Wood sculpture and breakfast on the Coast

2011-08-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

My son's first attempt at wood sculpture came out very nice. The oil finish really brings out the grain and he polished it so it is totally smooth, lovely to touch. My crochet lace scarf also came out quite nice, if I do say so myself. We had breakfast at the 3 Zero cafe today at the Half Moon Bay airport, the row of mailboxes across the road is a typical rural scene.

Seen at the Alameda Antiques Fair

2011-08-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

I snapped just a couple of photos at the Alameda Antiques Fair yesterday--the red and black blanket is entirely crocheted, really gorgeous workmanship. The vendor had two matching blankets, he wanted $120 for both--he said they were crocheted in South America. Unfortunately, they were made with a scratchy wool that I could not imagine actually wrapping around myself!
The other shot shows some amazing woven chairs and hats, they look African but the vendor wasn't around for me to ask questions about how they were made or where they came from.

The Japanese Garden in Portland Oregon

2011-08-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

I went to the Sock Summit last week and blogged about it on the Knitting Today! magazine website. But after the event was over, we spent a day doing other things in Portland. First, we took the MAX train to see the Japanese Garden, which is lovely and has a great view of snow-capped Mt. Hood. The MAX station there is underground, and has an interesting display of the soil that was removed from the area when it was built (ancient timeline). The Rose Garden is just across the street, but we didn't have time to walk through it, because we had to get to Powell's books! Just outside the store, we had a quick noodle lunch--it was delicious. I also ate at Burgerville several times because there was a location right across the street from our hotel, near the Convention Center. Also, the food is excellent and inexpensive--what more could I ask for? We had one great dinner at the Oyster Bar downtown, but I didn't get a good photo of the outside of the restaurant.

Hummingbird captured on film!

2011-07-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

I was wearing my new crocheted hat yesterday when I heard a LOUD buzzing/humming sound--it was a hummingbird, checking out the hat to see if it was really a tasty flower! The yarn does have bright spots of pink in it. Luckily the bird decided not to harvest pollen from my head and went for some nearby flowers, instead.

Oakland Fiber Festival!

2011-07-11T15:04:00.001-07:00

The second year of the Oakland Fiber Festival, the weather was much better (not so hot as last year) and there were a lot more vendors. I volunteered to teach crochet in the morning and then walked around the festival, managing to buy three skeins of yarn and a few back issues of crochet magazines. We ate lunch at an excellent Greek restaurant about a block away on Grand Avenue, and also browsed through a nice used bookstore (I found a book of botanical art that I didn't already have, all California plants). The other photo shows a sweater I started last year and finally finished last week!

Alameda Antique Market--getting bored yet? Not me!

2011-07-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Another first Sunday of the month, another antiques market in Alameda. It was very hot, even the vendors were melting (the ones that did not have canopies over their booths), but I still managed to bring home a vintage wool crocheted blanket with matching pillow, both for $25! I have not seen one in this pattern and colors before. The other photo shows the crochet trimmed pillowcases, vintage magazine, and a couple of crocheted potholders that I also found.

Visiting Richmond

2011-06-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today I had to take my son to Richmond, north of Berkeley, for a class. So I did a bit of research and found some fun things to do out there. After dropping him at the class at Douglas & Sturgess in an industrial area, my daughter and I had a lovely brunch at Salute, which is in Marina Bay (an excellent name). The restaurant is right on the water, so we sat in an outdoor patio and enjoyed the great view and food. Then we drove into Historic Pt Richmond, where quaint buildings and interesting shops are clustered around a small park and public library. Afterwards, we visited the Bone Room in Albany, a truly unique business that sells bones, insects, and all sorts of other cool stuff. Next door, they recently opened a gallery to sell related art. It was an interesting, fun day!

Alameda Antique Market again!

2011-06-14T12:34:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is my favorite thing to do every month. My big purchase (bottom photo)was a wool crocheted blanket from the 1940's, the woman who sold it knew the name of the woman who had made it (Guadalupe, they called her Lula) and her daughter (Marjorie) who had recently died in her 90's. A few seams need to be resewn, but it's otherwise in great condition. Aren't the little dress potholders cute? $3 each! Plus a baby bonnet, purse, and heart pincushion made of crochet thread, such fine work. I'm using the little basket to hold all my crochet hooks. The blue rocking chair is made of clothespins! The pink plastic thread holder was actually purchased at last month's antique faire, one of the "shelves" is broken off so I need to figure out a good way to attach it again.

What I did on WWKIP day

2011-06-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun crocheting and knitting in public for WWKIP day. I began at Peets, sitting and knitting with friends as usual on Saturday morning. But then I went to San Mateo's Central Park and met a few people there--it was windy and cold, so most of the knitters had not shown up yet. But we had to leave because the next stop was the San Mateo County Fair, to volunteer at the Men Who Crochet booth. The photos show some of the entries in the fair--not many! But there were a few good pieces.

Rainy day in Union Square, San Francisco

2011-05-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

We did a whirlwind shopping trip to San Francisco on Saturday, running between the raindrops that suddenly came splashing down in the middle of a sunny day! I snapped a couple of pictures of Union Square and of a kiosk that was selling very cute knit and crochet animal hats. I used my two Macy's credits to buy a purse--I wanted to buy shoes, but the store was mobbed and there were not enough salespeople to get shoes in my size, so I gave up. At least I didn't have to "try on" a purse! The traffic was crazy, mobs of cars on the street and people on the sidewalks. Can there be such a thing as too many tourists???

San Francisco Fine Art Fair at Fort Mason

2011-05-25T20:12:00.001-07:00

This year's San Francisco Fine Art Fair was not the most awesome art show I have ever seen, but it did have some very interesting things. Just one textile artist (I bought her catalog) and some wonderful photography.

A gardening day at home

2011-05-15T17:29:00.001-07:00

After a brief hailstorm this morning,the sun came out so I decided to tackle the weeds in our back patio. You can see our new back fence in the background. Then I rewarded myself with a bouquet of roses from the garden. The white flower in the glass vase is from one of the bushes I bought last week, it seems very happy in our kitchen window.

My entire weekend of lace knitting

2011-05-15T13:21:00.001-07:00

I know it doesn't look like much, but this is the result of many hours of lace knitting on the 2011 Anniversary Mystery Shawl! The next clue won't come out until Saturday and I'll be too busy to get much done on this project, so I decided to get as much done as I could now, while I have the time. The next clue will take much longer than this one, also.

More vintage goodies from Alameda

2011-05-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, we visited the Alameda antiques market again. We got there early enough to actually walk around all the booths! I can attest that the prices go down at the end of the day--I got some silver plated serving spoons for $5 each, originally marked $18.50 each, and a cute plastic sewing thread carousel for $5! It was not a good day for crocheted bargains, but I picked up several Japanese-style wooden boxes and a vintage toy "ray gun" that shoots light when you pull the trigger!

Japantown for Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:31:00.001-07:00

We ate lunch at the sushi boat restaurant (for once, there was no line to get in) and then shopped. I bought several books, and we had "bubble tea" and ice cream crepes for desert. Isn't it cute how they made little faces on our desserts? (last picture). I love Japantown!

1870 Art Center Open Studios

2011-05-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I also visited the 1870 Art Center in Belmont, it's a place that I visit frequently and have gotten to know some of the artists who have studios there. Today I was looking for sculptors who teach classes at the center, there are two: a wood sculptor and a stone sculptor, both very experienced teachers. I also found some beautiful photo prints and tatted bookmarks, everything was bargain prices here, as well.

San Mateo Garden Center Spring Sale

2011-05-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

Usually, the San Mateo Garden Center is not open on Saturdays. But today was their Spring Sale, so I stocked up on new plants for my own garden (at bargain prices) and took a few pictures of the Garden Center, which is looking great! The rose garden is especially lovely, full of colorful blooms.

Hunters Point Shipyard Open Studio Tour

2011-05-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

I have not been to the Hunters Point Shipyard artists studios for many years, so it was a treat to visit there on Saturday during the Open Studios tour. We saw about half the buildings, so I know where I will go during the next Open Studios in October. This is a free, very inspirational way to spend a day! Makes me want to start painting again.

Visiting Carmel on Easter weekend

2011-04-25T20:43:00.001-07:00

It was a lovely day, we found a parking spot on the street near the Old Forge so that's where we ate lunch (I had a huge quiche and salad--half the quiche went home for my dinner). I stopped into Yarns by the Sea for a Knitscene magazine and a skein of sock yarn, then we explored Pilgrim's Way bookstore and the delightful Secret Garden courtyard behind it.

My latest bargains at the Candlestick Antique Market

2011-04-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

It was chilly and windy, so about half the vendors didn't show up. But the ones who were there were cheerful and willing to bargain. I didn't see any great textiles, but I did buy a nice little Chinese wood cabinet with lots of drawers and inlay, and a needlepoint cat pillow that will eventually live in Atlanta, after I replace the backing fabric and stuffing. I like the Candlestick Park Antique Market, I just wish more sellers would come!

Why I was late to work on Monday

2011-04-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

It took about an hour to get over the hill on highway 92 on Monday, April 11, because a gravel truck overturned on a steep curve and blocked both lanes. I shot this pic just as I was finally able to get past the wreck.

Baby J's Buzzy Bee Blanket is done!

2011-04-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

When I saw this pattern in knitpicks.com, I had to buy it! It is so cute, the colors are so untraditional for a baby blanket (yellow and black), and the pattern is such a fun mix of an easy lace pattern and garter stitch stripes. I also ordered Knitpicks Shine yarn to make it. There was one large error in the pattern, but after I figured out what it was, the rest was clear sailing. I did have to wash it when it was done, because a lot of yellow fuzz came off on my jeans when I was working on it.

Alameda Antiques Faire--another lucky Sunday!

2011-04-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

My major purchases, a crocheted 1940's afghan and a 1940's quilt, are in a blog post on the Crochet Today website. But I wanted to post a couple of other purchases here: 4 Singer sewing booklets and an interesting toy "slide viewer" that came with tons of mini-slides of insects--I hope Isaac does not read this blog and spoil the surprise (although I might save these for a Christmas present, so he will have to wait awhile).

The other photos are my friend Alice, who brought a very interesting crocheted shawl to Peets a couple of weeks ago. We could not quite figure out how the stitches are worked.

Sketches from Istanbul

2011-03-24T10:19:00.001-07:00

I just saw this sketch from a reporter in Istanbul. Gorgeous!

Sending handknitted socks to Japan

2011-03-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

I packed up 9 pairs of socks to send to Japan for earthquake survivors, these are all socks I knitted but have never (or rarely) worn. I am sending them to a group called Socks for Japan that I found on facebook.

Another fun craft fair at Ft. Mason

2011-03-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to another craft show at Ft. Mason. I was about to leave when I noticed that one of the vendor's names looked very familiar--it was Leslie Lawton, a writer who worked with me at McAnn-Erickson Advertising in Los Angeles, many years ago! She was selling some gorgeous jewelry, so of course I had to buy one of her bracelets. What a small world!

Paper dresses at the Legion of Honor

2011-03-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Today, I saw the exhibit "Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave". It is fascinating to see up close all these historical costumes made of hand painted paper. There is also an excellent book about the exhibition, but nothing substitutes for seeing the actual dresses. Another artist, Anandamayi Arnold, was making a paper dress as a demonstration of how it is done, so I snapped a picture of her (no photos allowed inside the Pulp Fashion exhibit, unfortunately.)

The other photo is one of my favorite pieces in the Legion's collection. I walked past it on the way to see the other excellent show that is on display there now, miniature paintings by Arthur Szyk. I saw the book about his work at the recent Antiquarian Book Festival in SF, but had not seen any of his paintings until today. It takes a magnifying glass to see all the marvelous detail in his paintings, they are full of symbolism and humorous details.

My crocheted flower

2011-03-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I test-crocheted a vintage potholder/trivet pattern. I liked it so much, I made this one using some cotton yarn with long color changes from my stash. I love how it came out! Wouldn't it be fun to make a bunch of these to decorate your table?

A groovy new yarn with my name on it!

2011-03-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

At the recent Stitches West event, I discovered a lovely pink and green ribbon yarn called Marina! It came with a free pattern to knit a ruffled scarf with just one ball, so of course I had to buy it. It was not the easiest thing to knit, since I had to pull the ribbon out to find the hole for my knitting needle on every stitch, but I managed to finish the scarf on one day.

Brunch at the Cliff House in San Francisco

2011-02-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

I've driven past it a million times, but have never eaten at the famous Cliff House in San Francisco until a couple of weeks ago. The food and service were excellent, and the view is amazing! We went during the week, so it was not crowded and there was plenty of nearby free parking.

Monterey Museum of Art

2010-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I explored the Monterey Museum of Art La Mirada for the first time. There are actually two locations for the museum, one has traditional art and I visited it two weeks ago (sorry, no photos!)

The La Mirada location is a few blocks away and focuses on contemporary art. The building itself is interesting, it was one of the original old adobe houses that was added onto over the years by various owners. (The art is shown in a large, new addition.)

The show by Ingrid Calame was very interesting. I am posting two shots of her work--one is a painting and the other is a "site specific" piece that will be painted over at the end of the show. A crew of helpers used a crane to "pounce" dry pigment onto the wall using full-size stencils.

The tree photo was taken from the outside garden, which is also very nice.

Angel and orchids from the Allied Arts Guild

2010-10-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last spring, I visited the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park for painting and photography. This scene was in a corner near the plant shop. Today I finally got back into it--eventually, I will add more shadows and depth.

King's Mountain Art Festival 2010

2010-09-04T14:25:00.001-07:00

Today I took a quick trip to the King's Mountain Art Festival, one of my favorite craft shows. The weather was gorgeous, sunny but not too hot, but I didn't stay too long, just long enough to eat a chicken and apple sausage for lunch and buy another wonderful vase made by my favorite vendor, Foxlow Pottery. I didn't have any of his work with the deep red glaze, and I also liked the movement of the birds flying around it.

Saturday painters in plein air

2010-08-28T14:00:00.001-07:00

Today, the Saturday Painters got together in a neighbor's garden (one of the few times we have painted outside). I did these 4 ink and watercolor cards of various plants in the garden. It was a lovely day.

Last botanical art class of the summer

2010-08-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last botanical art class today! We sketched a person in the class (I chose Betty), a seed pod in my larger sketchbook, and the final hour was spent drawing something of our choice. I brought along a dried bird of paradise flower. I was also pleased because the teacher used the drawing I brought in last week as an example of good composition. She didn't even know it was mine (I had not signed it).

Hand painted garden signage

2010-08-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post the plant signs I made for the San Mateo Garden Center. These are scattered around in the patio and gazebo where there are plants for sale. I made about 25 of the signs altogether.

Seed pods homework

2010-08-15T12:40:00.001-07:00

Our botanical art teacher gave us each three seed pods to bring home and draw, for our homework assignment. I just finished my sketch, using black ink plus several colors of the Nexus "bleeding" pens.

More botanical art

2010-08-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with botanical art class! Still need to do more drawings outside of class, though. The teacher used one of my plein air flower sketches (Marigolds) on her class handout this week.

Presidio Watercolor Show 2010

2010-07-31T16:12:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the California Watercolor Association show at the Presidio in San Francisco. I could not take photos of the actual paintings in the show, so the pics you see here are some of the student displays of sketchbooks and a really nice unsigned sketch of a cat that was in the classroom. We also ate lunch at the Presidio Officer's Club, which is nearby. I have not eaten there before, we all really enjoyed it although the service was slow (not quite enough employees to handle the number of customers, probably). Excellent food and an interesting menu for brunch.

Poppies and marigolds

2010-07-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

The poppy pod was completed in botanical art class today, using Nexus pens for the shading. The marigolds were completed last week (I posted a group of ink drawings, this is one of them).

A plethora of ink drawings

2010-07-21T13:27:00.001-07:00

The eucalyptus nuts were the "quick draw" at the beginning of my botanical art class yesterday, and the two dried leaves was a much longer project (one hour) at the end of class. I used the Nexus pens and a waterbrush to shade the dried leaves. The drawings of trees were done at Filoli last week, and the four flower cards were all done at the Nebia winery today!

Ink sketches galore

2010-07-14T14:34:00.001-07:00

I made some of these drawings at botanical art class yesterday, the others were done with the plein air painting group today. We went to the winery on highway 92.

Flea Market goodies

2010-07-04T18:10:00.001-07:00

Okay, I scored at the flea market today. Big cotton crocheted bedspread, a bunch of crocheted potholders, an alligator soap holder (also crochet), and two crochet booklets. Plus 2 containers of buttons, a gold metal chain for a purse, a little kit complete with silk thread to mend silk stockings with, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.

Just havin' fun

2010-07-02T13:32:00.001-07:00

A better shot of my Mandala II shawl, and a sock monkey hat for Baby J that I whipped up this morning. It is what it is.

Another big round lace shawl

2010-06-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

This pattern is Mystery Shawl 2010, also called "Mandala II" by the designer. I finished knitting on Friday and blocked it Saturday, so it's fresh off my needles.

Poplar Beach plein air

2010-06-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got back outside to paint today, this is one of the windswept pines along the edge of the blufftop near Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay.

Started a new painting

2010-06-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

I took a photo at Allied Arts earlier this year of a little angel statue next to a vase with artificial orchids. They were inside a wooden box with a fancy painted interior and a mirror. I loved the still life look of this, and decided to try turning it into a painting. This is what I got done on the first day of work.

finished cyclamen painting

2010-05-29T20:16:00.001-07:00

Today, I figured out what my cyclamen painting was lacking--a background! We met at a friend's house overlooking the ocean, and sat in her tiny patio surrounded by roses. A warm, sunny day on the coast at last.

San Francisco Fine Art Fair

2010-05-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad the Fine Art Fair is back in San Francisco! I saw tons of great art, and here are a few shots of some of my favorites. The 3D photo collages were amazing, the embroidered organza shopping bags were fun, and there was another excellent painting by Joseph Raphael, one of my favorites. I also liked the row of clay sculptures drying outside, from one of the art classes that are held at Ft. Mason.

Pillar Point Dock

2010-05-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today I went to join the plein air painters at Pillar Point dock but did not see anyone else around (except the fishermen and some tourists who asked me how to get to Devil's Slide). But I stayed and completed this quick watercolor sketch of the docks. I was mainly interested in the shadows on the water under the dock.

Allied Arts Guild cyclamen

2010-05-15T14:52:00.001-07:00

Today I worked on the pink cyclamen flower painting, it's nearly done. My botanical art teacher came to my house and painted with me and another friend, and then we went out to eat lunch in a local restaurant. Even though the skies are gray and the temperature is chilly, this was a lovely day.

Back at the Soil Farm

2010-05-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today I went back to the Soil Farm. I brought along some leaves and seed pods from a tree at the Allied Arts Guild, and experimented with using a light watercolor wash for the leaves, then shading on top with colored pencil. I also used Pierre Noire pencils on the seed pod. The ink tree drawing was also done at the Soil Farm.

More green leaves

2010-04-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I made more progress on the leaves in my painting. Next, the flowers!

starting a new painting

2010-04-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is my latest painting, I started it last Saturday and this is how much I got done in the first session. I painted on it again today, so about twice as many leaves are complete now. The photo was taken at the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park last week.

Allied Arts Guild

2010-04-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

I went to the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park twice this week to paint. The first time was a mistake, I thought it was Wednesday when our HMB plein air group would be there, but it was Tuesday. Luckily, another group, the Peninsula Outdoor Painters, was there and welcomed me, so I stayed and painted with them. Then I went back on the real Wednesday and met my own group. I did a variety of quick watercolors and also took some photos for future paintings. For the round fountain, I sat on the second-floor landing of outdoor stairway, to get an aerial view. The photo shows the actual fountain, you can see my painting of the same scene.

Watercolor cards

2010-04-02T09:03:00.001-07:00

The plein air group went back to the same nursery where we have painted before. This time, I brought along more blank greeting cards and finished several. It was a lovely day in the garden, lots of things are blooming now.

Spring is here at last

2010-03-24T14:25:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I went to a lovely vacation spot near Guerneville, in northern California. We ate, and drew, and discovered wildflowers growing under the redwoods. I spent a ton of time on this pencil drawing of wildflowers, even though it doesn't look like it.

Today, I went out with the plein air painters to a local nursery (same one we visited last month). Lots more flowers were blooming today. I painted two quick cards and one watercolor painting of an old shed in the back area of the nursery.

Knit Happens items are now available for purchase

2010-03-21T12:02:00.001-07:00

I finally set up a Cafe Press store where you can buy Knit Happens items like a tote bag, coffee travel mug, set of coffee cups, and a water bottle. Here is the link:

http://www.cafepress.com/coastsideknits

Another view of Mavericks

2010-03-17T16:36:00.001-07:00

What gorgeous weather we are having! Warm, sunny, not too windy. This morning I spent two hours painting this scene of Maverick's, the famous surf spot. This is the path that leads to the big waves, they are on the other side of the big cliff in the distance.

Maverick's parking lot painting

2010-03-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today, I went out to the harbor near Maverick's (famous surf spot) with the plein air painters. You can see a snapshot of me, sitting in the parking lot painting, and the watercolor I did there. Also, the last Botanical Art class in SF was yesterday, so here are the drawings I did. The two that look similar are both the same dried fern leaf, done in pencil on different colored papers. The pine cone, dried leaf and dried seed pod were my "warm up" ink sketches.

Thistles and cactus

2010-03-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

In botanical art class, we drew dried thistles. I did an ink sketch first, then we tried colored pencils. Due to rain, the local plein air group met at a member's home today. I brought along the cactus watercolor that I started about two months ago. It's finally finished!

Drawing miner's thrift

2010-02-24T13:50:00.001-08:00

In botanical art class today, the teacher brought in real plants (recently dug up) of "miner's thrift", a wild lettuce-type plant. I did a preliminary drawing of a single leaf (right side of photo) and a larger study of the whole plant (left). The top picture is my ink sketches, a rock with interesting holes that I brought to class, and some small shells that the teacher provided.

Five more drawings

2010-02-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

Two more new drawings I did today (another piece of ginger and some dried leaves with mini cones), plus the three "upside down" drawings I did last week at the nursery.

Flora Farm sketches

2010-02-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have three more images to show you, but blogger insists on posting them upside down, even though they are right-side up on my computer. Oh well. I just drew the dried flower head, and the flower sketches were done in the Half Moon Bay nursery earlier this week.

Ginger and feathers

2010-02-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

This week, we brought some ginger root to class to draw. Our teacher supplied the feathers, and taught us her "embossing" technique to make the very fine white lines. First, draw the lines with a very hard pencil (6H, as I recall), pressing down to make grooves in the soft paper. Then shade over the lines with a much softer pencil. Even though the lines were drawn with pencil, they appear white when the paper around them is shaded. Fun and easy!

botanical pencil drawings

2010-02-03T10:56:00.001-08:00

This week in botanical art class, we drew "toyon", which is a common shrub with smooth green leaves and red berries. My first ink sketch was not very good, but I did a better job on the pencil drawing. We also got to spend some time in the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture in the San Francisco Botanical Garden. I did the other sketch, of some seed pods, in the fall botanical art class.